Amsterdam 2018

10.14.2018

Hello, fearless reader! I had the opportunity to go to Amsterdam for
work this last week, and fell in love with the Dutch city. It's a
beautiful, historic European city with so many of the features I love
about Portland:

It's a bike city (though with a more aggressive and helmet-less bike
culture)

It's very environmentally concious, with almost 100% electric boats,
a lot of vegans, and a gazillion solar panels.

Lots of healthy food! Usually when I travel I get sick from eating
out so much, and not getting enough veggies. Definitely not a
problem in Amsterdam.

So many plants! While there isn't quite the greenery of PDX, the
Dutch definitely love their plants

But while Amsterdam felt familiar in many ways, it was also unlike any
other city. The canals are sparkling and beautiful, the canal houses
are historic and unique, the cobbled streets and cafes and public
gardens all make the city special. I spent a whole week there, and
while much of that was spent focusing on work I also got a few days to
explore Amsterdam and it's many splendors.

My favorite thing about Amsterdam is that there's no "tourist
checklist". There's no shortage of touristy things to do, but there's
no sense of "Well we have to go to the Eiffel tower, and the Louvre,
and the palace, and Versailles..." and before you know it your trip is
over and you never really got to wander. Amsterdam is a city where
you can just wander. It's much more about the vibe of the city,
soaking in the architecture, and just turning down streets that look
interesting. Without the pressure of a travel checklist, here's:

What I Did

The museum in Amsterdam, I went to the Rijks
first thing Saturday morning (pro-tip: this was a good call - it was
deserted when I got there, but by the time I left was very crowded and
would not have been as enjoyable). The Rijks is fantastic whether
you're an art/history/art history buff or not. It has very accessible
content that even I could appreciate. The collection is organized
chronologically, and while the building layout isn't perfect it's
definitely more navigable than most art museums I've visited. It
begins in ~1100 - for the uninitiated, this is right around when art
started to get good. Before 1100, it was 100% religious scenes and no
one had realized what perspective or light or shading where yet. So
the content was good, the museum itself was beautiful, and the best
part was that it was a relatively small museum. I did it in about 3
hours, and while I did rush a section or two I think most everyone
could do the whole thing in half a day. A few things stood out in the
Rijks:

The
metal work. There were a lot of bronze statues, silver
dinnerware, and jewelry that were absolutely stunning. I wasn't
expecting to be so in awe of the detail, opulence, and beauty of these
items, and can't imagine the lives of the artists who created them or
the royalty who used them. It seemed unthinkable to have something so
beautiful in my life just for the sake of it, and made me think that
it might not be such a bad thing to buy things not just for their
utility but also because they're pretty. I think part of my amazement
was not just in the beauty but in the craftsmanship, so perhaps I
should also explore more handmade things as well.

Amsterdam has not changed. There were a few paintings of the
canals and city itself, and if you added a few cars and bikes they
could have been painted yesterday. It was cool to see that kind of
history.

Depictions of women, and specifically body types. Like every woman
ever I've struggled a lot with my weight, my body, and my relationship
to food. I've thought for a long time that this was internally
motivated - that I didn't feel pressured to look a certain way by
society, but that I had a certain conception of beauty I strove for
(which I knew came from our social idea of beauty, but still felt
internal). Seeing women who looked like me - with hips, and thick
thighs, and small boobs that face the wrong way, and kind of limp
hair - glorified and molded in bronze and dressed in armor was nothing
short of mind blowing. Of course I'm aware of the body positive
movement, but it always feels fake and cheap. Like sure, you can say
you think being fat is beautiful but who are you kidding really we all
know the score. This art felt like such a genuine celebration of
women's bodies, and while it was only a few pieces that capture this
it almost brought me to tears. I am normal. My body isn't wrong, or
bad, or weird. It's going to take a lot more than some art to change
how I think of beauty, but it's a good place to start.

Their babies looked like babies! If you've ever been to the
Louvre, you know that the human race really struggled to draw babies
for a long time. I was vvv impressed with the baby quality at the
Rijks.

I wasn't expecting to have time to
visit this small photography museum, but found myself in the area with
a few hours to kill and stopped in. It's an enchanting building which
lives up to it's french name - detailed crown molding, beautiful
chandeliers, all white-washed wood and brick. They had 3 exhibits when
I visited, the main one a series a semi-absent father took of his son
from birth to 18. It was reminiscent of 'Boyhood' in photographs, and
while artistically was not especially interesting I really enjoyed
reading about the son's transition from baby to child to adolescent to
young man. It took me out of my own head for a while, and felt like
getting to know someone very intimately in fast-foward. The next
exhibit was of famous video game players, southeast asian teenagers
who played League of Legends in tournaments for a living. It made me
think of my roommate Daniel, who watches Starcraft tournaments, and
the exhibit was even called 'Dream / Hack', which is a play on one of
the tournaments he goes to every year. It was incredible to see how
focused the players were while playing, and in seeing a few images of
their life it seemed like a lonely and stressful way to live. The last
exhibit was a series of family portraits where one member was in a
coffin. It was weird, I didn't really get it.

I really enjoyed this museum, and think it's a great one to visit if
you're not that into art museums. It's small and quick (easily under
an hour long visit), everything has english translations, it's cheap,
and the content is very accessible.

A huge, beautiful park just south of central
Amsterdam, it's no surprise I loved Vondel Park. It's close to a lot
of shops and museums (read: easy to get to), but feels like it's own
little world once you're in it. It's well maintained, with both bike
and walking paths, fountains, gardens, ponds, and of course an
abundance of flora and fauna. The leaves were just starting to turn
yellow and red while we were there, and it was so nice to go there to
clear my head and rest for a bit.

A small, 15-minute stop while wandering
through the Jordaan neighborhood, I'm not sure I would recommend
this. I didn't regret going - it was cool to see the inside of a house
boat - but ultimately unremarkable.

Everyone will tell you that you should do a canal
tour in Amsterdam, and for good reason: you should! I especially
recommend going early in the trip, since you'll get a better idea of
how the city is laid out, which neighborhoods you want to visit, and
what is and isn't worth doing while you're there (for example, our
tour guide let us know we didn't have to waste our time with the
flower market or cheese museum). There are approximately 1 million
canal tour companies, and while I can't speak for the rest of them I
really enjoyed doing ours with Those Dam Boat Guys. Our guide was
very experienced, had studied European history, was casual and funny
and made the tour really enjoyable.

Similar to the Pearl District in Portland, the 9
streets are a fancy shopping district with cute local shops and cafes.
Located in the heart of the Jordaan neighborhood I loved wandering
in and out of shops, looking at beautiful things and rich people.

I wouldn't call this a 'must-see', but if you're
in the area it's a gorgeous bridge, especially when it's lit up at
night.

Where I Ate

To be honest, most of my meals were either smoothies or to-go
sandwiches. Amsterdam isn't particularly known for it's culinary
excellence, and it was honestly really nice to not feel like I had
to enjoy the local cuisine or hit certain restaurants. I also loved
that Amsterdam is a very health-concious city, and it was easy to find
healthy, tasty, cheap, and high-quality meals. I never got that
eating-out hangover you get when travelling, and was relieved I didn't
have to make my own meals at home in order to not feel sick. All that
said, I did eat at a few places that were interesting!

Like a much larger version of Pine Street Market,
Foodhallen was a cafeteria with local, street-cart-like vendors
selling a variety of cuisines. While I wish the portions had been
smaller so I could have tried more of the carts, I had vegetarian
ramen, chicken fresh rolls, veggie dumplings, a custard bun, and a
small french galette all of which were to die for. Had it been closer
to where we were staying we definitely could have gone everyday and
never tired of it. A great place if you're with a big group, as
there's something for everybody.

Yep - Amsterdam has a restaurant dedicated to
avocados. Avocado pancakes, avocado burgers, avocado cheesecake,
avocado salads - it was glorious. It's a very bourgeois place, all
neon signs and cement walls and Edison bulbs. But the food is well
made, the atmosphere is cozy and casual, and the staff were friendly
and nice. Whether it's just for the shtick or for an actually really
good meal, I highly recommend!

This is the bougiest place I've ever been. It's
like if Lauren Conrad and Anthropologie collaborated on a cafe /
restaurant / shop. They had unicorn cupcakes, avocado toast, marble
tables, gold-rimmed everything, and lots of pink. I honestly didn't
think a place could ever be too bougie for me, but Pluk proved me
wrong. That said, their matcha was pretty good and they had great
outdoor seating, so it was fun to sip and people watch.

Matcha Quest

The best matcha I had in Amsterdam wasn't even on my
radar after all my research. It was from a little cafe just a block
away from my AirBnB, and I loved the atmosphere there as much as their
rich, not-to-sweet matcha.

A close second in Matcha Quest was De
Koffieschenkerij, which came to be known by our group as "The Garden
Cafe" and eventually just "The Cafe". Located in the back of a church,
hidden behind it's own outdoor patio overflowing with foliage, this
gorgeous cafe was the perfect place to go take a breather from the
chaos of our work. Their latte, like Roost's, was rich and
not-too-sweet. While I loved Roost, if you're ever in Amsterdam and
are planning to visit a cafe, make it this one!

A brunch spot close to all the museums,
we stopped by Bakers and Roasters briefly on our way to something else
for a morning cup of matcha. Because we were rushed I didn't get to
sit and enjoy the space, but the restaurant was adorable and the tea
equally delightful.

I loved how french the cafe was, and their
brioche was to die for. The lady who made my tea was very nice - and
even gave me a free drink after I came in for the third time! - but
the matcha was always very clumpy. Go for the coffee instead :)

Starbucks

Ok ok ok ok ok hear me out though. The matcha from
Starbucks in Amsterdam is way better than in the states, and while
it is a chain it's also the only coffee place open at 6am when you
have jet lag and can't sleep. They use real matcha and a healthy dose
of it, and it's very lightly sweetened (unlike in the US). I was
pleasantly surprised, and this definitely measured up to some of the
smaller coffee shops we went to!

While they didn't have a matcha, this cafe is
located on a quiet street near the museums. Not far from the
'touristy' areas, it's well worth a 5 minute walk to sit outside and
enjoy some peace and coffee at Sweet Cup.

And that's all she wrote! I fell in love with Amsterdam without
expecting to, and would love to go back for a longer trip some day.
The ambience and history are so different from anywhere I've been
before, and the city felt vibrant and exciting.